1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to an improved container for storing materials, especially a container having a closure that can be opened for accessing stored content.
2. Background Art
Containers having a lid, or closure, with a structure for retaining a scooping utensil are known in the art, especially containers of the type used for storing consumable materials like food products or dietary supplements. Typically, consumable products of this type are provided in powdered, particulate or granulated form for mixing by the user into an ingestible solution. Conventional containers for storing such content typically include a lid that is opened by the user to access a portion of the stored product. Generally, only a fraction of the stored product is used at any given time, while the remainder is intended for future use. Upon retrieval of a desired amount, the lid is closed against the container to prevent leakage or contamination of the remainder until the next usage. In many applications, the container may be accessed multiple times each day.
In practice, a metered dose is typically dispensed from the container upon opening by scooping the desired amount of product from the container using a scooping utensil such as a spoon, spatula or scoop. Some conventional storage containers known in the art provide a scooping utensil packaged loosely inside the container. Placement of the scooping utensil inside the container conveniently ensures that the user will have a scooping utensil at hand when the stored content is first accessed, eliminating the need for the user to carry an additional spoon or other scooping utensil.
When using a container with a loosely stored scooping utensil, a user typically must first remove the lid and retrieve the scooping utensil from the interior of the container. A loosely stored scooping utensil will often become buried in the stored product. Thus, to retrieve the scoop for measuring and dispensing the desired amount, the user is forced to make contact with the stored product, either directly with the user's hand or indirectly with another object for retrieving the scoop. This aspect of conventional storage containers having loosely stored scooping utensils has several disadvantages. First, the stored content may be contaminated by foreign substances, including bacteria, chemicals or foreign debris present on the user's hand or on the retrieving object. Contamination of the stored product is especially undesirable where the stored content is intended for human consumption. Second, retrieval of the scoop from a buried position exposes the user's hand to the stored content. This is particularly undesirable where the stored content contains ingredients that may cause the stored content to stick to the user's hand. Third, retrieval of the scooping utensil prior to each use is a nuisance to the user, requiring additional time and effort to simply dispense a desired amount of the stored product. When repeated several times each day, retrieval of a buried scooping utensil prior to each use can waste a significant amount of time.
Others have attempted to overcome the problems of conventional storage containers having loosely stored scooping utensils by including mounting structures on the inside of the container or lid for retaining the scooping utensil between uses. Conventional mounting structures for securing a scooping utensil include clasps or locking structures that can make removal of the utensil from the retaining structure difficult. Other conventional retaining structures known in the art provide one or more flanges extending from the container or lid dimensioned for directly engaging the bowl portion of the scoop. However, conventional retaining structures of this type do not allow interchangeability between scooping utensils having varying bowl shapes or dimensions.
Conventional containers for storing material are also often molded from a thermoplastic or thermosetting material. Typically, an injection molding process is used to form the container and/or the lid. During injection molding, a heated thermoplastic or thermosetting material is forced into a mold cavity having a desired container or lid shape defined therein. The heated material fills the contours of the mold cavity and is allowed to cool, producing a continuous, solid three-dimensional structure. The container is then removed from the mold for packaging and labeling.
In-mold labeling is a technique for the injection molding of thermoplastic containers, where during an in-mold labeling process, a label is typically inserted into the injection mold cavity prior to injection of the heated material into the cavity. The label is inserted with the front, or face, of the label oriented toward the outer cavity wall, and the back of the label is oriented toward the interior of the mold cavity. During molding, the label can be secured to the outer wall of the mold cavity using a releasable means, for example by a vacuum or electrostatic force between the in-mold label and the mold cavity wall. The molding material is then forced into the mold cavity to fill the space between the back of the label and the inner mold cavity wall. The mold material fills the space behind the label and bonds directly to the label, forming a container having a label integrated on the exterior surface. One characteristic of a container with an in-mold label is that the container generally includes a label affixed to the container surface prior to filling the container with the stored product.
Conventional in-mold labeling configurations for injection molding containers require the mold cavity to include an angled side wall or a relatively large draft angle, i.e. greater than about five degrees, for reliably inserting a label into the mold cavity before each injection step. Additionally, using conventional in-mold labeling configurations, if a substantially straight side wall or lower draft angle is desired, the label height must be reduced, as taller labels tend to become stuck in a low draft angle mold cavity. Yet further, in-mold labeling configurations having substantially straight or low draft angle mold cavities typically do not accommodate glossy exterior label surfaces because the glossy finish can cause the in-mold label to cling to the mold walls during insertion, resulting in undesirable folding of the label or misalignment.
There is a continuing need for improvements in various aspects of the containers discussed above.